Filed under: Car Buying , Concept Cars , Convertible , Scion , Subaru , Toyota Bad news, sportscar fans. According to a new report from What Car? , Toyota has cancelled plans to produce a GT86 convertible, a model based on the FT-86 Open Concept that debuted at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show . In truth, Toyota never actually confirmed it would produce the budget-friendly droptop in the first place, but rumors have been flying since last year and Toyota reportedly showed its embattled Scion dealers a FR-S version of the convertible in August . Presumably, this means that a lidless variant of the Subaru BRZ is not in the cards, either. The reason for the move is unknown, though What Car? reports “one possible cause is weight; Toyota did say that further work would be required on rigidity before the convertible could be launched, and that could have added extra bulk that conflict with the regular GT86’s ethos of light weight and agile handling.” It doesn’t look like that work will happen anytime soon, as “sources now say that the car has now been delayed indefinitely, with no place in Toyota’s product plan in either 2014 or 2015.” Still holding out hope? What Car? says the project could be “fast-tracked” if management decides it wants to reboot the program down the road. one possible cause is weight; Toyota did say that further work would be required on rigidity before the convertible could be launched, and that could have added extra bulk that conflict with the regular GT86’s ethos of light weight and agile handling.

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Scion , Subaru , Toyota The Sydney Morning Herald has spoken to Tetsuya Tada, chief engineer of the Toyota 86 (our version of it, the Scion FR-S , is pictured above), and they’ve been promised that more power is on the way. We’ve heard a lot of speculation about a more powerful Toyobaru since before the standard model was even launched. The only question now is how the power will be delivered, and among the engine concepts we’ve already heard about – turbo, supercharger, twin-charged, hybrid – is a new one: more displacement. Tada said that an engine with more displacement than the current coupe’s 2.0 liters is being tested alongside a turbocharged and a hybrid-assisted motor. The SMH cites “inside sources” as saying the displacement option is the one likely to get the go-ahead, and suggests increased bore and stroke will see the engine grow to 2.5 liters, horsepower to about 250 – a 50-hp increase over the present car. While that’s apparently the betting man’s solution for the long-awaited increase in gumption, what happens with the next generation could be more wide open than we suspected. According to the report, Tada “hinted that [a successor] could be a radically different car, potentially dropping the boxer engine altogether.” He said once they’ve sorted out the concept for the second generation car, then they’ll sort out an engine. That’s where a turbo option could come to market, perhaps the turbocharged four-cylinder Toyota is developing for the Lexus NX crossover or a hybrid system that uses a capacitor. This leaves us wondering what, if anything, will happen with the (presumed) next generation of the Subaru BRZ . But for now, the cavalry – more horses – is on the way for the current generation, one way or another.

Filed under: Concept Cars , Convertible , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Videos , Toyota There’s nothing wrong with going topless. And Toyota is proving that its FT-86 (read: Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ ) coupe is just as excellent with its roof removed. It may only be a concept, but this FT-86 Open previews a new droptop from the Japanese automaker to round out the Toyobaru sports car family. We’re finally getting the chance to see the open-air FT-86 in person here at the Geneva Motor Show , and we’re already yearning to take it canyon-carving. Interestingly, the FT-86 retains the Toyota coupe’s two-plus-two seating arrangement (we’d prefer a proper roadster setup here), but things still look good for this droptop two-door. We’ll be curious to see how the car looks with its folding soft top in place (operated by fancy-shmancy electronics, by the way). As for production intent, rumors have been flying about a production Scion FR-S convertible, but until we hear it directly from Toyota. Consider our hopes in check but our fingers crossed. UPDATE: Wondering what the FT-86 Open Concept looks like with its hat on? Wonder no more – we’ve updated our gallery with shots of the concept with its roof up .

Filed under: Concept Cars , Convertible , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Toyota There’s nothing wrong with going topless. And Toyota is proving that its FT-86 (read: Scion FR-S / Toyota GT86 / Subaru BRZ ) coupe is just as excellent with its roof removed. It may only be a concept, but this FT-86 Open previews a new droptop from the Japanese automaker to round out the Toyobaru sports car family. We’re finally getting the chance to see the open-air FT-86 in person here at the Geneva Motor Show , and we’re already yearning to take it canyon-carving. Interestingly, the FT-86 retains the Toyota coupe’s two-plus-two seating arrangement (we’d prefer a proper roadster setup here), but things still look good for this droptop two-door. We’ll be curious to see how the car looks with its folding soft top in place (operated by fancy-shmancy electronics, by the way). As for production intent, rumors have been flying about a production Scion FR-S convertible, but until we hear it directly from Toyota. Consider our hopes in check but our fingers crossed. Continue reading Toyota FT-86 Open Concept would make a mighty fine droptop FR-S Toyota FT-86 Open Concept would make a mighty fine droptop FR-S originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Mar 2013 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Filed under: Concept Cars , Convertible , Performance , Geneva Motor Show , Scion , Toyota Here it is, folks – the highly anticipated Toyota FT-86 Open concept, a precursor to what could become a road-going Scion FR-S convertible. A full smattering of images and video have leaked onto the internet, and thanks to the folks at FT86Club.com , we can now see the new hotness that Toyota will be unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show next week. These images confirm details that were first seen in spy shots captured a couple of weeks ago – namely, the larger wheel/tire package and the inclusion of the Toyobaru coupe’s decidedly useless rear seats. These new photos, however, show a two-tone leather interior with goodies such as an iPod/iPhone mount on the dashboard. The concept car is also fitted with the coupe’s six-speed automatic transmission (boo!) and FT86Club.com reports that the folding soft top is operated electronically. We’ll have the full details live from Geneva in just a few days. For now, click through our attached image gallery to see lots of pretty pictures of the topless wonder, and scroll down for a video to see the concept in motion. UPDATE : The news now been officially released by Toyota UK. Scroll down below to see the newly added press release, and a bit more detail about the FT-86 Open. Continue reading Leaked Toyota FT-86 Open concept images preview droptop Scion FR-S [w/video] [UPDATE] Leaked Toyota FT-86 Open concept images preview droptop Scion FR-S [w/video] [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 28 Feb 2013 23:48:00 EST.

Filed under: Motorsports , Coupe , Performance , Toyota , UK , Racing It’s about time we saw someone cook up a legitimate race version of the delectable Toyota GT86 , and now it looks as if GPRM has done just that. The Buckingham-based race engineering team has built the creation you see here, complete with a turbocharged 2.0-liter, direct-injection four-cylinder boxer cooked up by Nicholson McLaren Engines. The team says the new mill delivers between 360 and 400 horsepower to the rear wheels depending on final testing, which is a sight bit more than the 197 horses the naturally aspirated stock mill offers. The car will compete in GT4 events, including the Avon Tyres British GT Championship. Technically, the GPRM effort isn’t factory backed, but the team says the effort “has the blessing of Toyota Great Britain.” How could it not? You can check out the brief press release below below , and be sure to take a closer look at the machine in our gallery. Continue reading Toyota GT86 GT4 racer is ready for UK competition Toyota GT86 GT4 racer is ready for UK competition originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Coupe , Toyota It’s pretty safe to say that the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ joint venture has been quite a success so far. Here at Autoblog, we’ve had nothing but nice things to say about the Toyobaru coupe, and it’s a similar story elsewhere in the automotive press. Toyota has certainly been keeping track of the car’s progress, and because of the success of this project, Autocar reports that the Japanese automaker is now more keen to do joint ventures in the future. Previously, Toyota had worked with PSA Peugeot-Citro

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Tokyo Motor Show , Toyota Certainly for the moment, this is the biggest competition the Subaru BRZ has: its twin, the Toyota GT 86 . The volcanic orange coupe was unveiled in another corner of the Tokyo Motor Show , and frankly, it’s got a lot to recommend it. The frontal treatment is slightly different than on the BRZ, but the only digression out back is the lack of a spoiler, and the GT 86 looks pretty good without it. Inside, it’s a tale of two cabins. Clearly Toyota has brought a higher-spec cockpit to the party, and although you might not dig the red two-tone scheme, the iPhone cradle, toggle switches and white gauges are nifty. Of course, that niftyness will cost you a navigation screen, but these are exactly the kinds of choices the GT 86 vs BRZ crowd will need to make. Brush up on the specs in the release after the jump and take a walk around it in our high-res image gallery. Continue reading Toyota GT 86 makes a compelling case for itself Toyota GT 86 makes a compelling case for itself originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 30 Nov 2011 01:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Spy Photos , Coupe , Performance , Toyota Maybe there was a time when a car was unveiled and that was that. But we can’t quite recall such a time. Especially not when dealing with a vehicle as hotly anticipated as the sportscar developed jointly by Toyota and Subaru . The car alternately known as the FT-86 , the Scion FR-S and the Subaru BRZ has been the source of a seemingly endless run-up that’s included concept cars, spy shots and more leaks than a colander. And now we have one more. Subaru just gave us its first official glimpse of what to expect with the BRZ STI Concept that’s headed for the Los Angeles Auto Show later this month, but before that, we brought you a couple of leaks from the Toyota side of things: one showing the stock version , and another dolled up with bolt-ons from the Modellista accessories catalog. Now we can add one more as images have surfaced on FT86Club.com of the FT-86 accessorized with parts from Toyota Racing Development (TRD). We have to say we’re more enthused by the standard model without the extra baubles, but this latest leak serves to further demonstrate the endless possibilities in store for customizing what is bound to become a popular model among enthusiasts. Toyota FT-86 leaked again in TRD catalog originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 02 Nov 2011 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Japan , Scion , Toyota We may have a clearer picture of what the Toyota FT-86 / Scion FR-S will bring to the table when the production version finally arrives. A few scans of a purported Toyota training manual on the vehicle have made their way into the hands of the internet via the FT86Club.com forum. If the site’s translations are accurate, the vehicle will boast a 2.0-liter flat-four producing 197 horsepower at 7,000 rpm and 150 pound-feet of torque at 6,600 rpm. While not overwhelming numbers, if the handling is as good as we’ve been hearing, the powertrain should be enough to hustle the 2,667-pound coupe around your favorite twisty road at a respectable pace. The sheet also reveals that the FR-S will come in two trims, at least in Japan. A higher-spec variant will come with a limited-slip rear differential in both manual and automatic-equipped vehicles, while the lower-spec model will only have the LSD when equipped with a third pedal (which is just fine by us). Topped-out JDM versions will also have a leather-wrapped steering wheel, LED accent lighting, a six-speaker audio system, sport pedals and white-faced gauges. Models will also be differentiated by wheel size, with higher-trims wearing modest 17-inch rollers and lower models rolling on 16-inch stock. Toyota FT-86 / Scion FR-S specs leaked via training manual originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .